Week ending 14th October

We were delighted to welcome so many parents – over 400 families – to our recent open evening. Lots happened on the evening, with impromptu drama and music performances across the site; opportunities to participate in science experiments; toasting and eating marshmallows with our DofE students and lots more…We look forward to welcoming the Year 6 students in September.

It was nice this week to welcome some new faces at our half-termly parent forum. Please do look out for future Parentmails about this event, which happens every half-term, and is an opportunity to ask questions about the life of the school.

This week and next you will be receiving information about how to access the Chesterton Reporting System: our online portal which will give you live access to information about your child. Details of how to access the system will be sent to your email address and a second part of the log-in will come home with your child. If you do not receive this information then please contact Richard Auffret.

Dates for diaries for next week: the Year 7 Welcome to Music Concert on Wednesday and the Year 11 GCSE Drama Performance on Thursday; these are sure to be excellent events.

Helen Briggs, our Acting Head of Music, sings with the Wellensian Choralia and has reached the category final of the National Choir of the Year Competition. They are one of four adult choirs to have been selected. The final takes place in Birmingham Symphony Hall on Sunday evening. If the choir is successful then there will be a performance at the grand final in Wales Millenium Centre in December. Good luck to Miss Briggs!

A small group of Year 8 students were taken by Dr Hinshelwood and Mrs Von Schreiber to Pizza Express this week. This was not just a dining treat, but an opportunity to help consolidate learning about food as part of their Science Food and Digestion topic. The students were tested by the chef on their science understanding and then made their own pizzas to put their understanding to their test. Students came back very excited by the trip. Photos on our Facebook page.

Some sporting news, with photos to be found on our Facebook page:

The Year 7 rugby teams took part in their first full fixture last week. There were two teams from Chesterton, each playing a team from Cottenham Village College. There were a lot of examples of fantastic play, such as: the tackling by Oliver Jackson, the evasive attacking play by Luca Teleki and the direct running by Devonne Facey. The boys were increasingly playing as a team as the games developed; this showed in the end results, as one team won 30-10 and the other drew 15-15. The teams host Cambourne next week.

Every half term, students are nominated to be Chesterton ‘Sporting Champions’. This is a prestigious award which recognizes positive sporting attitudes, plus at least one of the following areas: outstanding commitment towards extra-curricular clubs at Chesterton; outstanding achievement in PE or sport (inside or outside school); outstanding progress in PE or sport and outstanding leadership in PE or sport.

Our Sporting Champions for this half term are………..

Year 7 Ciara Ahern and Jackson Fowlie

Year 8 Harry Smith and Caroline Stoop

Year 9 Olivia Bird and Hanif Rahman

Year 10 Kos Kostov and Felicity Lawrence

Year 11 Jesse San Miguel and Will Tan

Many congratulations!

The Year 9 rugby teams impressed at the recent Cambridge District Schools’ Competition. A total of 35 boys took part, as Chesterton were the only school to enter two teams this year. The standard of teamwork was excellent: typified by the consistent use of supporting players (particularly when there was an opportunity to offload the ball in the tackle) and the defensive cover provided by every player. One of the teams won all but one game during the afternoon, and the other team came second in every game!

A future date for diaries is Richard Kirkby’s parent session about our eSafety provision at Chesterton. This will be an opportunity to discuss some of the current risks, look at how we educate children about online safety and discuss strategies you can use at home to assist your child. If you would like to attend then please book via our online Parents’ Evening Booking System. The event will be on 22nd November at 6pm – 6.30pm.